FORSTCHEN, William R.

(1950-)

   US writer who has generally concentrated on series, beginning with the Ice Prophet sequence - Ice Prophet (1983), The Flame upon the Ice (1984) and A Darkness upon the Ice (1985) - set on Earth at some point inthe future after an ecological disaster has caused the planet to become icebound. In this world technology has, according to the orthodox sf assumptions, been foolishly banned, and the eponymous prophet heralds a revival of science; but the intricacies of the realpolitik which doom him personally, and the beauties of the ice world itself, go some way to keep the sequence from being unduly familiar. The Gamester War novels - The Alexandrian Ring (1987), The Assassin Gambit (1988) and The Napoleon Wager(1993) - show a similar competence and a whole-hearted involvement in the most far-reaching dictates that SPACE OPERA can demand on those who treat its premises seriously, featuring a race of intergalactic overlords who permit the citizens of Earth and many other planets to engage in vast GAME-WORLD-like conflicts and to import, through TIME TRAVEL, figures likeAlexander the Great to fight wagered wars on the enormous ringworld that serves as arena. The Crystal series, written with Greg Morrison - The Crystal Warriors (1988) and The Crystal Sorcerers (1991) - is fantasy. TheLost Regiment sequence - Rally Cry! (1990), Union Forever (1991),Terrible Swift Sword (1992) and Fateful Lightning (1993) - reworks the basic structure of the Gamester War books, this time from the perspective of a Civil War Union troop transported through time to a medieval planetsecretly dominated by remote aliens. Into the Sea of Stars (1986) is a singleton, as is Star Voyager Academy (1994); Wing Commander III: Fleet Action* (1994) is part of a multi-author series tied to a computer game,and Magic: The Gathering Arena* (1994) is tied to a trading-card game. WRF is a genre writer of shining efficiency, and is technically capable of the most ambitious work.

   JC

   See also: GAMES AND SPORTS.